The Mach 1 is a perfect example of that ideal. Lots of cars claim that you can drive them to the track, play, then drive home the same day. Whether accelerating or carving up corners, the Mach 1 just feels incredibly stable even though the world is passing by very quickly. The GT350/GT500 suspension components make a difference compared to a GT PP2 as it feels another degree sharper on turn-in. It doesn’t have quite the of the outgoing GT350, but 480 horses is plenty. The entire package makes the Mach 1 nearly flawless on the track. The nose never twitched when turning in at speed, and I detected no hint of understeer.
I didn’t come close to testing out the 2 mph gain in top speed (from 166 to 168 mph with the manual) but the added grip from those tires and the big jump in downforce made the Mustang feel planted on the track.
#Mustang mach 1 plus
It includes a larger front splitter that provides 150% more front downforce than a Mustang GT Performance Pack, plus a larger spoiler, rear tire spats from the GT500, and most consequentially, wider 19x10.5-inch front and 19x11-inch rear wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. I was thankful that the Mach 1s I tested on track featured the $3,500 Handling Package. The two straightaways were enough to get a feel for the Mach 1’s ability to build speed (and no-lift shifting), but the tighter corners revealed a car that continues to chip away at the stereotype of the Mustang as a point-and-squeeze muscle car that gets lost in the bends.
It’s telling that we tested the Mach 1 on the tighter, more technical Streets of Willow rather than Willow Spring’s larger track. Those two performance features, along with well defined gates, easy-to-operate clutch pedal, and the very cool cue-ball shifter are enough to make me prefer the manual. It works between all the gears, but is most useful for shifts between second and third and third and fourth. Once you do it correctly, it’s supremely satisfying to come out of a corner into a straight and just pin that gas pedal to the floor. I’m used to backing off the gas when shifting, but if you do that the throttle won’t be open far enough to prevent the transmission from locking out the next gear when you attempt a no-lift shift. With the engine charging hard over 5,000 rpm and the throttle pushed down at least 90%, you clutch in, keep the throttle pinned, and shift gears.
#Mustang mach 1 manual
Nonetheless, the manual is much more fun, thanks to two key features: rev-matching and no-lift shifting.
#Mustang mach 1 drivers
However, I found it hard to keep track of 10 gears in my head while I was trying to focus on driving clean laps.įord had test drivers on hand who said they were putting down similar lap times with the automatic and the manual, though for those of us who aren’t professionals the automatic will be quicker. When I did select my own gears, the transmission was very responsive and kept up with multiple pulls of the paddles in rapid succession. With the automatic in Track mode, I didn’t feel the need to grab for the paddle shifters in any situation the Mach 1 seemed to be in the right gear on entries and exits, and held to near redline on the straightaways. I blistered the track in both the manual and automatic, and each was excellent in its own way. This level of dexterity is hard to pull off for an engine that nears 500 hp, but kudos to Ford for making it feel very controllable in all situations. It gets into the power quickly for a naturally aspirated engine, and the throttle mapping is spot on for both street and track.
This engine is a more than willing dance partner. Power flows to the rear wheels and the rear wheels alone. The 6-speed manual transmission comes standard, with a 10-speed automatic optional. The 5.0-liter V-8 makes 480 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, a boost of 20 hp over the standard Mustang GT and a match for the Mustang Bullitt’s output from a year ago. It’s closer to what you get in the standard GT, but with added gusto and it still sounds appropriately coarse and substantial. The exhaust note isn’t as distinctive as the tune played by the GT350’s flat-plane-crank V-8. The Mustang is sold worldwide now, and the Mach 1’s exhaust was designed to toe the maximum decibel line as closely as it could in multiple countries but stay legal everywhere. The tail is highlighted by four massive exhaust tips, which project the V-8’s monstrous bellow into the world. Mach 1 badging sits on each front fender. Mach 1 models featuring the available appearance package ($1,000) are the easiest to spot, with exclusive fighter jet gray paint, orange accents inside and out, orange brake calipers, and an ebony/orange interior to boot.
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